Who are you and what is your mission?
The PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs program supports teachers and young people reporting on important issues in their community, creating impactful video reports for the national NewsHour audience. The Labs connect middle and high school students with a network of public broadcasting mentors, an innovative journalism curriculum and an online collaborative space to develop digital media, critical thinking and communication skills while producing original news reports.
The program also includes a news literacy/digital media curriculum and online collaborative space designed to transform their understanding of news, build a foundation of civic engagement and spark a lifelong interest in current events.
Is there anything coming up that you would like to encourage teachers to check out?
The Student Reporting Labs curriculum was developed with our partners at the Media Education Lab of Temple University as well as media professionals and high school teachers. The curriculum consists of three flexible units with a total of 10 lesson plans aimed at strengthening digital and news literacy competencies.
These flexible lessons can be used in courses in English, social studies, or video production classes and include critical thinking, analysis and production activities. Each lesson is designed for a 50-minute class with engaging high-interest activities to nurture a sense of purpose and accomplishment.
Along with technical instruction on the use of cameras and editing equipment, this program also includes a meaningful focus on understanding the role of journalism in society and developing broader communication skills, including listening, asking questions, public speaking, and finding, analyzing and evaluating the quality of information.
The Reporting Labs were made possible by grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Science Foundation.
